Last night I had a fantastic time. I had the chance to dine with some great blogger friends from the area. I always love blogger meet-ups. From left to right: Em, Lee, Kelly, me, and Alayna.

You know you will always have a lot to talk about thanks to the common interests. And tastes in food. Lee had suggested Eclipse di Luna for this meet-up and it was the perfect fit.

The restaurant serves mini-plates tapas style, so we all ordered a bunch of things to share with the table. There were many different options and all tasted delicious. Some of the ones I caught on camera:

Fried Goat Cheese with Honey & Caramelized Onions

Yucca Fries

Scallops with Bacon, Tomatoes, and Herbs

Spanish Pizza with Roasted Veggies

Lamb Mini Hamburgers

Whew, that lighting was rough. I think some of the worst food pictures I have ever taken. I can’t wait for our next meet-up. Hopefully more of us in the area will be able to make it to that one. No matter what though, there will be two less attendees in the future. Our next big meet-up will likely come after Em & I have popped out the baby boys. How exciting! 😉

Today has been relatively calm. Peter volunteered at our church, so M & I were on our own. We spent the morning playing and then headed out to meet some friends for a Trek or Treat event at a local park and trail.

We sort of expected it to be more trick-or-treating, but the event actually just had some food, crafts, booths from vendors, and music for the kids to dance. It was still nice to walk around and see all the kids in costumes. And hang out with some good friends. Even if they are the enemy today. 😉

It’s the BIG game today. Georgia vs. Florida. And it is time for me to watch! All by my lonesome. Well, M will watch too. She loves football. My, how life is different than these days…

I’m the one in the black top with the silver and the red skirt to the right. Hopefully we win today, like we did that year. Go Dawgs!!! And happy Halloween Saturday.

• What sport do you love to watch? College football for me. Also, things like gymnastics.
• Do you like tapas style dining? I do as long as the people I dine with like similar foods. Otherwise I bet it is frustrating!
• Don’t forget to ASK ME ANYTHING for the November Q + A series!

Ever have one of those days that includes a lot of goodies? And you enjoy each and every one that calls to you? Then go home that night overly full and wake up hankering for a bowl/plate/cup full of health? I just ask out of curiosity. I have absolutely no experience in that scenario. 😉

Yesterday after our donut breakfast, outdoor walk, and Halloween bark production, we had a fall party to attend with a group of friends.

I could not ask for a better group of friends to spend a Saturday afternoon with. Many hours can quickly pass while just hanging out, sharing a meal, and playing with all of our (many) kids. That is exactly what we did yesterday. We started off with lunch.

I had about 2/3 of the hamburger, plus some veggies + spinach dip, and a scoop of Apple Butter Sweet Potatoes (recipe below). I think I would have been happy with just a large plate of those sweet potatoes and the spinach dip! I can’t forget the few pieces of Halloween bark that made it into my mouth as well.

We spent a good chunk of time doing crafts with the little ones. Makenzie created a handprint spider and a field of palm-print pumpkins from finger paints. Then, she decorated some pumpkin shaped sugar cookies with icing.

We finished our time at the party watching some SEC football action before heading out to Babies R Us. We wanted to get an idea of what we will need before he arrives. I don’t think we will need too many things for Braedon. He’ll look cute in Makenzie’s old pink clothes, right? 😉

Based on the title of this post, you can probably figure that we ended the night with more food. We were in the area of an old favorite Chinese food restaurant that we haven’t been to in at least a year. It sounded so good. Sadly, something has changed over the past year and the meal totally let us down.

We shared an order of steamed pot-stickers, which lacked much of the taste and texture they used to hold. We also shared an order of black pepper beef. Disgusting. Normally, the meal contained way more vegetables and the beef was never fried. What came out this time was a mound of fried beef with a few carrots, water chestnuts, and baby corn thrown in. We both had a minimal amount before deciding we could not stomach anymore.

To make up for dinner, we broke out a Groupon for some frozen yogurt. Self-serve frozen yogurt is one of those blog crazes that I totally get. I chose a combo of cheesecake topped with toffee bits and pumpkin topped with graham cracker.

What could be better than yogurt and a wide choice of toppings? Definitely not black pepper beef, that’s for sure. 😉 Now, for that recipe I promised you. Thanks to my friend, Krista, for sharing!

Apple-Buttered Sweet Potatoes

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium Granny Smith or other tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
• ½ cup dried cherries or dried cranberries (optional)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup apple butter
• 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a 3 ½ or 4-quart slow cooker combine sweet potatoes, apples, and, if desired, cherries/cranberries.  In a medium bowl combine whipping cream, apple butter, and pumpkin pie spice.  Gently stir apple butter mixture into sweet potato mixture to combine. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high heat setting for 3 to 3 ½ hours.

• What would be your dream frozen yogurt creation?
• Do you like arts and crafts? I’m not crafty but I love doing those things with Makenzie